Benwell Colliery shaft scaffold accident, 1902

On 8 March 1902 two men renewing the timber in the Charlotte Pit shaft at Benwell Colliery, west of Newcastle, fell down the shaft when the bunton holding up their temporary scaffold gave way. It was found to have been held by a single nail.

Cause

A side bunton partly supporting the temporary scaffold gave way. The men had sawn through the wooden guide to which it was bolted, leaving it held to the deals only by a nail, and they had not fixed the check scaffold six feet below that they had repeatedly been told to use.

What happened

The Charlotte Pit shaft at Benwell had been deepened from the Beaumont to the Brockwell seam, and its timber was being renewed and repaired. Thomas Hazon, a shaftman, and John Hunter Oliver, a deputy, were working from a temporary scaffold in the shaft when a side bunton supporting it gave way and both were thrown down the shaft and killed.

Investigation & inquiry

Examination afterwards showed the bunton had been secured to the deals only by a nail once the guide it was bolted to had been sawn through. The inspector noted that the men had been warned repeatedly to examine the bunton under the scaffold and to use a check scaffold six feet below, and did not appear to have done so.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• On 8 March 1902 a shaftman and a deputy fell to their deaths in the Charlotte Pit at Benwell Colliery when the scaffold they were working on gave way. ^1,2,3
• A side bunton partly supporting the temporary scaffold was found to have been held to the deals only by a nail after the men had sawn through the wooden guide it was bolted to. ^1,2,3
• The men had been repeatedly warned to examine the bunton under their scaffold and to use a check scaffold six feet below, and had not used the check scaffold. ^2,3
• Benwell Colliery was then owned by W. Cochrane Carr. ^1,2

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Bunton (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…at Benwell Colliery, west of Newcastle, fell down the shaft when the bunton holding up their temporary scaffold gave way. It was found to have…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…two men renewing the timber in the Charlotte Pit shaft at Benwell Colliery, west of Newcastle, fell down the shaft when the bunton holding up…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and repaired. Thomas Hazon, a shaftman, and John Hunter Oliver, a deputy, were working from a temporary scaffold in the shaft when a side…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 8 March 1902 two men renewing the timber in the Charlotte Pit shaft at Benwell Colliery, west of Newcastle, fell down the shaft when the…”

Sources

1. (primary) Benwell Colliery (DMM b061) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: John Hunter Oliver, Benwell Charlotte Pit, 8 Mar 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: Thomas Hazon, Benwell Charlotte Pit, 8 Mar 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 22 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026